White Panda heightened his senses. Right now he's running away from his pursuer. The pursuer is clever enough to use the cover of dense trees and might ambush him anytime.
This chase had been going on for several hours now and he's mentally and physically exhausted.
He caught a glimpse of a small hole behind some dead branches. The location is somewhat hidden and he only have to guard the entrance and not worry about being caught from the back if he hid himself there.
He checked the surrounding making sure that he's still alone and made his way through the hole. He piled more branches in the entrance to keep himself more hidden. Only when he think that he's secured enough did he released a sigh of relief.
After a while, the smell of fresh blood assaulted his nose. In his desperation, he actually forgot to check if there are wild or venomous animal living in the hole. Now he tried to see and feel his surroundings and felt a warm and wet flesh. Obviously someone or something just did it. His mind warn him to escape immediately, but before he can do so someone knocked him out.
...
"Do you think she'll be able to accomplish her challenge?" Koala can't help but worry. Ember was given 24 hours to hunt and bring White Panda back in the camp and 23 hours had already passed.
After five years of training, Ember began to nag the Commander to bring her to missions. Since Jac felt that Ember can handle it, he gave her a final test. Although hunting for White Panda seemed like a simple test it's actually a war of attrition.
That guy was known for his stamina and keen sense for good hiding places. So this test will try Ember's endurance, senses, and resourcefulness.
A minute before the time is up, they heard a loud thud. Ember has thrown the unconscious White Panda in their feet. She was grinning widely, showcasing her white pearly teeth and fresh looking face despite going through 24 hours of trial.
"Well, I passed didn't I?" she circled around the Commander excitedly like a child.
"Hmm, you did a good job" Jac said approvingly and gave her a pat in the head. Throughout the years, as much as he thought that he was a coldhearted man, but around Ember, he can't help but commend her and pamper her. But only with Ember, probably because she never failed his expectations. Other people still suffer from his indifference and strict attitude.
White Panda grunted. He woke up when Ember had thrown him but he took some time to adjust himself.
He looked at her like he's looking at a monster.
"Ember how can you be so heartless!? How can you treat your big brother this way?" White Panda tried to squeeze out some tears.
"Ohh c'mon, who tried to set me up first with multiple arrows!" Ember giggled. Big brother White was actually given an hour to prepare before she began her hunt. Just as soon as she entered the forest she was bombarded with arrows from all directions. If not for her super reflexes she would have been filled with hole before the first hour of the trial was up.
"I know you'd be able to easily pass that, but you didn't have to throw me" White Panda continued his rants.
"Shame on you big guy, you actually got finished by a little girl. Had this happened in one of our mission you would have long been dead" Black Panda gloated.
"That's right. Ember, how did you catch this panda by the way?" it's not just Koala, but everyone is curious about what happened inside.
"Well, from the beginning I built some suspense for Big Brother. I kept a close tab on him and will appear at different interval and disappear after I harass him just enough to wear him down psychologically. Then when I thought he was at his limit I led him to the place I prepared my ambush. I found a cave snug enough for him to feel that it is a safe place and piled some branches to create an illusion that it was a hidden one, but I left a small space where he can catch a glimpse of the cave behind. And so I patiently hid inside the cave and wait for Big Brother to come in and knocked him out" when they heard the details from Ember, their hairs automatically stood up and they can't help but shiver.
They casted pity eyes at White Panda and felt thankful that they're not the one in his place.
On one hand, White Panda can't help but regret that he volunteered himself to be her test subject. Usually Ember just sparred with them during training and join them in their drills and is behaving perfectly. Although throughout the years they were able to see why the Commander took her under his wings. It's not because he's a lollicon but rather he immediately saw the brilliance of a hidden diamond. Ember is a genius. She can easily assimilate the skills that she had only seen once and execute it on her first try, even the hardest one can still be performed after five tries. But only now did he discover how terrifying she is.
Others may not know, but Ember actually caught him with four hours to spare before the time's up. When the Commander first told them how the test will go, they all thought that he's being harsh to Ember by giving her only 24 hours to finish it. However, no one really knows Ember's limit than the Commander.
"Alright, you all go to rest. Make sure that your body is in optimal condition for tomorrow. We will prepare for an escort mission and I want everyone in except for White Panda. He will have to stay and receive his punishment for losing" Jac announced.
"Reinforce your mental stability so that you won't fall for the same trick and die cluelessly" Jac added before dismissing everyone.
White Panda felt bitter about the Commander's decision but he knew how to accept his lost.
Meanwhile, Ember can't help but feel elated when she heard she'll be a part of the mission. Although it seemed like she already passed the test but she knew that's just the beginning. Her real trial starts with this mission and if she did well she knew she'll become an official member of Team Chaos.